How 57 racing horses from Hyderabad ended up in Jabalpur, prompting M.P government probe and outrage from activists

57 racing horses from Hyderabad arrived in Jabalpur, 8 died, sparking an investigation into their treatment and transfer.

In the first week of May, 57 racing horses arrived at a private farm in the Raipura village of Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur from Hyderabad in Telangana.

Over the course of three weeks, eight of them have died, prompting the Jabalpur authorities to launch an investigation into the deaths after various animal rights activists hurled allegations regarding the treatment of the animals and their “hasty, overnight” transfer.

The remaining 49 horses continue to remain at Sachin Tiwari’s farm in Raipura, while a team of government veterinarians visits the farm everyday for their medical checkups and treatment.

The Jabalpur district administration has launched a full-fledged investigation into multiple aspects of the matter, including the suspicious deaths and other allegations such as poor treatment, malnourishment of the horses.

On May 23, a petition was also filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court by a Jabalpur-based animal rights activist, seeking the court’s immediate intervention to protect the horses and give better treatment to them, access for animal rights bodies to the horses for medical care, and a probe into the “illegal” transportation in trucks from Hyderabad to one Sachin Tiwari’s farm in Raipura.

The plea, filed by Simran Issar, claims that the horses had been sent to Jabalpur by Hyderabad-based Horse Power Sports League managing director Suresh Paladugu and seeks an investigation against him and Mr. Tiwari. It also claims that there were 154 horses in Mr. Paladagu’s custody in Hyderabad and that whereabouts and the condition of about 100 of them are unknown.

Speaking to The Hindu, Jabalpur Collector Deepak Saxena said that the matter came to his attention after he received a call from former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and that a team of veterinarians, including from the Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, was immediately deployed to inspect the horses.